10/8/14

While everyone is in agreement that the Mets need to score
more runs, there is no shortage of opinions on how to get there. It ranges from the ridiculous, “Trade for
Mike Trout” to the inappropriately expensive, “Go ink Hanley Ramirez and
Yasmani Tomas and call it a day.”

The more realistic people who have seen the modus operandi
under the current post-Madoff regime is targeting choices between the senior
citizen brigade – Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Marlon Byrd – or the
lightning-in-a-bottle approach of catching someone in a comeback from injury or
rebound from a horrible performance – Grady Sizemore and Chris Young would be examples of this
ilk. (Sorry, I know I made you throw up
a little in your mouth on that last one).
J

Recently I’ve advocated inking 38 year old (and now possibly
retiring) Torii Hunter to a short term deal based upon his recent 2013/2014
nearly carbon copy slash lines of 17/83/.286 while playing in cavernous
Comerica Park. Like everyone else, I’d
be concerned both about his age and price, but that’s the kind of solid
production this team needs to take the next step.

Some fans probably wonder aloud, “Why can’t the team find
some under the age of 30 who can deliver a boost to the moribund offense? I know I’ve pondered it many times but either
these players are too expensive already or simply not available in trade. Why would a team give up on someone young and
productive like that instead of building around him for the future?

There exists one under-30 free agent available this off
season who baseball-reference.com suggests in a 162 game season would deliver
16/84/.283 – remarkably similar to the much more senior Hunter. This fellow has, in fact, been playing since
he was 20, so there’s quite a track record of production to analyze, including
a rather remarkable 2010 season in which he posted 21/112/.298 when he finished
10th in the MVP voting.
Believe it or not, his most recently contract that is ending pays him just
a modest $750K and he’s still playing this year for the Baltimore Orioles in
the soon-to-begin ALCS as part of a right handed attack.

By now you’ve probably figured out I’m talking about the
pariah named Delmon Young who coincidentally made quite an impression on the
New York media when during a drunken incident in the Bronx while playing for
the Tigers in 2012 he was charged with a hate crime when he
yelled an anti-Semitic slur at the arresting officer. He was suspended for 7 days, paid a fine, did community service, and attended a program at the Museum of Tolerance.

Let’s take a look at sports in general for a moment and then
we’ll come back to Mr. Young. Has anyone
read recent headlines about rapes, domestic violence, MURDER…and these players were
allowed to resume their careers. Even
boxer Mike Tyson bit off the ear of Evander Holyfield, did jail time for the
rape of Desiree Washington, yet was able to not only resume a boxing career
upon his release from jail but also to star in the “Hangover” movies. Then there’s the whole PED crowd, including
Ryan Braun, Jhonny Peralta, and, among others, the Mets’ highest paid starting
pitcher, Bartolo Colon. Apparently the
better the athlete you are, the more willing people are to forgive your
transgressions.

Now let’s get introspective for a moment. What does alcohol do to a person? It breaks down filters and leads people to
say and do things they might not otherwise exhibit while sober. Is that a good thing? Of course, not. However, there are any number of famous and
everyday people who have done things they regret while under the influence, yet
somehow they go on to lead productive lives after having been forgiven for
their transgressions. A good example is
Las Vegas 51s Manager-of-the-Year Wally Backman whose own alcohol-induced
incident blackballed him from his chance leading the Diamondbacks, yet after an
interval he was able to resume a successful managing career.

Now let’s come back to the enigmatic Delmon Young. I find it highly hypocritical for someone who
has been caught doing far worse things than calling someone a reprehensible
name getting off more lightly than the rather wide swath the condemnation of
anti-Semitism seems to create for people’s careers. I can’t find an exact parallel as Mel Gibson
had multiple similar incidents in his lifetime and John Rocker was seemingly an
equal opportunity bigot. Are we naïve enough to think that no other
baseball player after having a few too many hasn’t said equally offensive
things directed at people of African American or Hispanic or Middle Eastern
heritage? I find the last one
particularly galling because it seems perfectly acceptable to many to condemn
one class of people but absolutely forbidden to say anything about others.

Now I didn’t mean to get all political here and would like
to come back to the baseball decision of whether or not Delmon Young would be a
good option for the Mets. They need an
outfielder. He plays outfield (well,
with about the same grace as Lucas Duda, but he has logged 827 games there at
the major league level). They need
power, he has power. They need a right
handed bat. He bats right handed. They need someone who delivers a top notch
OPS. He’s in the top 100 of starters
across baseball in this regard. They
need someone affordable. He could
probably be had for a few years at a few million per year – about what a Ruben
Tejada or Eric Young, Jr. would cost. At
worst, he could be a right handed platoon partner for Matt den Dekker. At best, he could deliver the solid production
the lineup needs. Oh yeah, let's not forget he’s just
28 years old.

So the question is – not the incident that is well
documented – but from a purely baseball standpoint, would Delmon Young
represent the kind of player the Mets could use?

People know him in the game - if he is a clubhouse negative without the "incident" then it weakens his case.

But I had cited Gary Sheffield as a guy, as I recall, that Ventura and Zeile helped keep off the Mets. The Yanks stepped in and nabbed him. He hit .290+ 2004 and 2005, with 70 HRs, 221 runs scored and 244 RBIs (average of 122 - Mets' all time RBI record is 124, by the way).

Hey, I don't have to break bread with the man, but if he's in the uniform and hitting .280+ with RBI production, I'm OK with it. However, I know it would never happen on the Mets because they don't want anyone with any semblance of a personality in their uniform. That's why I'm convinced Matt Harvey will be part of a blockbuster trade in the next year or two.

And we can come up with a new jingle if we get him, modeled after the old Hellmann's mayonnaise commercial (bring out the Hellman's, bring out the best) - Bring out the Delmon, bring out the best!

Does his last name HAVE to be Young, though? Can he change it first? We've already had 3 since 2012. I like Delmon Jones. We haven't had many Joneses - Cleon, Randy - I'm ready for another Jones not named Chipper.